Reward offered for guitar lost Sunday

Police have license plate of person who 'found' instrument on Ironwood.

Police have license plate of person who 'found' instrument on Ironwood.

January 24, 2006|KAREN RIVERS Tribune Staff Writer

There is only one guitar that Mark Pitcher plays onstage: his cherry sunburst 2002 curly maple Les Paul. This past weekend, it fell off the back of his truck and disappeared. Pitcher says he left Club Landing around 3 a.m. Sunday, after playing a gig there Saturday night with his band, Big Bang. While driving south on Ironwood Drive, he heard a "clunk." He pulled over as soon as he could and found that the tailgate on his truck had come open. The guitar and a foldable dolly had fallen out. Pitcher estimates that it was less than two minutes before he backtracked to where it happened, but both items were already gone. The guitar would cost about $2,200 to replace, and his homeowner's insurance may not cover it. He filed a police report, contacted the local Guitar Center (which buys and sells used instruments) and plans to check local pawnshops. The guitar's serial number is 02112534. Pitcher also posted fliers and already received one response. A paper carrier for the South Bend Tribune told him that she spotted the fallen guitar at the intersection of Ireland Road and Ironwood Drive. She says a man and a woman in a truck grabbed it before she could get it herself. She wrote down the license plate number, which Pitcher turned over to the police. While he waits to see how that lead develops, he is offering a $200 reward for the guitar, no questions asked. He can be contacted at (269) 362-0796. Pitcher lives in Buchanan and works in a nursing home as an occupational therapist's assistant. The guitar was a replacement for his previous one, which he'd been playing for 28 years. He has long wanted a curly maple Les Paul and finally found one in his price range a couple of years ago. He bought it with permission from his wife. "That's my baby," Pitcher said. "Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted one and I never thought I'd be able to afford it. ... With a guitar -- it's hard to describe, but when you find one you really like, you just don't want to give that up."